Sunshine
by hasu86
Summary: Sakura wonders why, of all men in Konoha, she has to fall for him. But when this 'phase' just won't go away, it seems the world may just be against her confessing anything remotely romantic to him. Ita/Saku. Non-Massacre.


Disclaimer: Naruto and any of its characters do not belong to me.

* * *

**Sunshine**

* * *

Sakura wonders why, of all men in Konoha, she has to fall for _him_. She wonders why she can't be like Ino and fall easy with no strings attached and a safety net to catch her. Instead, she falls and falls _hard_. She looks for the safety net that isn't there and tries to reach for something—anything to hold on to but those invisible strings elude her and down she spirals, tumbling and falling with the wind whipping fast and no end in sight.

And then she tells herself that all this will eventually pass and it's nothing but a stupid phase that's got her emotions all tied up and turned inside out. She doesn't like feeling like this and forces herself to breathe.

One…two…three…just _breathe_.

He interrupts her thoughts with a hand to her shoulder and she nearly jumps ten feet away. She spins around and glares accusingly at him, as if he's the source of all her troubles and sleepless nights—_which he is_—and glares even harder.

"What can I do for you Itachi?"

He lifts his arm and she stares in horror at the blood dripping onto the floor of her immaculate yet tiny office. The tired annoyance and emotional upheaval dissipate, replaced by familiar routine and a resigned sigh that escapes her lips.

She reaches for one of the clean linen towels she always keeps on the shelf and proceeds to pull him towards her. When their skin touches it's like small bolts of lightning that fan the small flames already there. She ignores it. Tells herself it's just the heat blasting through the vent even though it's spring and the heater isn't even on.

"What did you do?" She asks as she heals the jagged laceration. It's not too deep; certainly something someone of his skill could have healed with little effort.

"Sparring with Hatake." Itachi replies quietly.

His dark eyes never stray from her practiced motions and soon, lazily trail the length of her slender toned arms, around her shoulders and the dip of her collarbone until finally resting on her beautiful face—on her lips and viridian eyes.

"What?" She whispers, flicking those soulful eyes up to glance at him and then back down so she doesn't accidentally start healing another part of his body.

"Something bothers you."

She hates his perception, how he always knows what she's thinking and how she's feeling. Stupid Uchiha men.

"I'm fine." She lies and finishes, dropping his arm and stepping away. "You're all set."

Itachi doesn't bother to check her work and instead, levels an intense gaze on her, as if he knows exactly what's going on.

"Your eyes tell me otherwise." He says and smirks that all knowing, sexy smirk of his.

"You're impossible Itachi."

"But not to you."

He leaves her alone in her no longer immaculate and now red dotted office.

She isn't quite ready to bask in the sunshine of truth just yet. And she tells herself again that this is all just a stupid phase. Uchiha Itachi is simply a girly infatuation even though she's no longer a girl but a beautiful, accomplished woman, and that wanting to kiss him and touch him is the devil's work at play.

* * *

Two days later she meets Ino and Hinata for lunch and promptly tells them her personal life sucks and those things called love, lust, and infatuation are very hard to distinguish from one another. Ino agrees wholeheartedly with the first part of Sakura's self pitying and proceeds to tell the pink haired medic that the reason why love, lust, and infatuation are indistinguishable to her is because she hasn't gotten laid in a ridiculously long time.

Hinata tries to stamp down the blush at the blatant mention of sex, something she believes shouldn't be taken and handled so lightly, but she understands that when it comes to the straightforward blond, nothing is really held back.

"Are you interested in someone, Sakura?" Hinata asks, curiosity getting the best of her because it's rare to see the cherry blossom so worked up over her personal life, or a lack thereof.

The green eyed kunoichi slumps and proceeds to rest and almost bang her head on the table. "I think so." She whispers.

Ino then reaches across the table of the sandwich shop and flicks her exposed forehead and Sakura glares at the offending woman.

"Will you stop with the miserable shit? You're really cramping my happy day." Ino stares pointedly at her. "It's not like you to sulk and beat around the bush Sakura. Just tell the lucky bastard already."

"Much easier said than done."

Ino shrugs, rolling her eyes. "You'll never get anywhere until you do it."

Hinata agrees. "I'm afraid Ino has a point Sakura. After all, telling Naruto-kun how I felt is the reason why we're together now."

Sakura wants to laugh because that's putting it lightly. Hinata was a stuttering mess that day—cherry red and very close to a breakdown—and Naruto was as dense as ever. It took Sakura much longer than necessary to make her former teammate understand what the Hyuuga heiress was telling him and a less than gentle push at his back to finally get things in motion.

"He can't be that scary Sakura. It's not like the man you're going to confess your undying love to is Uchiha Itachi." Ino says offhandedly, digging into her food.

She almost chokes on the water she's drinking, but thankfully it goes unnoticed by the other two women.

"Confess my undying love? Hardly, Ino. I'm not confessing anything because there isn't anything to confess."

"Then why the hell are you so worked up for?" The blue eyed kunoichi asks, growing annoyed. "Okay, you know what? You really just need to just get laid, get all that tension out of your system. I know a few guys who'd be more than willing—"

"Just eat your food Ino-pig."

Hinata hides a grin when the blond sticks out her tongue. "You'll be fine Sakura. Everything always has a way of working out." The dark haired kunoichi assures.

Sakura hopes her words are true. And that these seemingly indistinguishable things called love, lust, and infatuation will fade away as if they'd never been there at all.

* * *

Three weeks later, she's relaxing in a hot spring a day away from Fire Country's border and absolutely loving every moment of it. She has just completed a successful solo mission that took her to the arid lands of Suna and their burgeoning medical facilities. While spending time in a new setting has given her a clearer mind and stabilized those rampant emotions, Sakura's glad she's almost home and away from the stifling heat and the frigid nights.

Night has already descended and she listens to the crickets, to the way the breeze whistles through the green growing leaves. A content sigh escapes her lips and she thinks it can't get any better than this as she lazily closes her eyes and rests her head back on the smooth surface of the rock behind her. She feels her muscles slowly loosen and lets herself ebb away with the peacefulness around her.

But of course it doesn't last.

The large shoji screen slams open and shut and Sakura's already going for the kunai hidden beneath her robe a few feet away.

"Sakura."

She spins around when she hears the familiar voice laced with the minutest amount of concern and fatigue. A sharp inhalation escapes when she sees a bloody and injured Genma being supported by Itachi and a ragged looking Neji. She forgets all about propriety and stands up from the water, giving the three shinobi an overflowing eyeful of naked, wet female flesh as she quickly grabs the robe and dons it, haphazardly tying a knot to secure it once she's out of the water.

Even though Genma's bleeding to death and struggling to breathe, he whistles low and smiles appreciatively as he's lowered to the ground by a blushing Neji who can't seem to look at the pink haired kunoichi.

"Did you see that Hyuuga? Uchiha? I can now die a happy man." He glances at his ANBU captain whose eyes seem to have darkened over the span of a few seconds.

Sakura hovers over him, long rose colored hair dripping over her shoulder and water droplets trailing the smooth contours of her face.

"You look beautiful naked Sakura. Quick, flash me again before I die." He rasps teasingly.

She lightly smacks his head, holding down a red hot blush as a reluctant smile tugs at her lips. "You're not going to die Genma."

Sakura starts to undress him and he can't help but comment. "You know, this reminds me of a dream I had—"

"Shiranui." Itachi's voice is hard as steel.

"Right. Shutting up." He suddenly grunts and hisses when Sakura pops his shoulder back into place.

When he feels her soothing chakra enter his system, his eyes begin to droop and before he knows it, he's slipping into unconsciousness with the lovely vision of Sakura's breasts in mind.

After tending to Genma, she turns to Neji—who still can't quite meet her eyes—and looks him over with a practiced eye. A few minutes later she finishes healing him and the Hyuuga stiffly thanks her before being told by Itachi to bring their injured teammate to Sakura's room.

The shoji screen closes behind them and she's left to deal with the Uchiha and his somewhat stifling presence.

"How did you know I was here?" Sakura asks curiously, approaching him to check on his well being as medic protocol demands her to. And she concedes to herself that it's also because she's worried. The stress lines on his face seem more prominent. But she's hoping it's just the dim lighting that makes them appear so.

"Hokage-sama."

She discovers that Itachi isn't physically injured. He's more fatigued than anything and when she notices him relax a little at her soft touch, she smiles faintly.

"It was a good thing I stopped here then."

He doesn't respond. Instead he continues to stare at her, intense, penetrating, right into her heart and soul feebly covered by a thin white robe and her failed attempts at self-denial.

"You should rest." Sakura says, suddenly feeling self conscious. She crosses her arms across her chest and puts some distance between them.

"And don't worry. I'll secure the perimeter." She offers.

Sakura's worked with Itachi before on missions and experience dictates that no matter what the situation, a clean sweep of the area is always necessary. He won't fully relax—not that he ever does—without a thorough check.

He remains silent, as if waiting, and she feels like an eternity has just crawled by. But he eventually nods because experience tells him she can be trusted and maybe he can rest easy tonight.

And then before she can stop herself, impulse suddenly rears its ugly head and she's opening her mouth. "Itachi, I—"

The intended words die in her throat when he glances at her from over his shoulder. Something flickers across those onyx eyes of his. Interest? Amusement? Maybe anticipation? Sakura doesn't know and she can't believe she was just about to 'confess'.

"I'm glad you guys are okay." She says instead.

"Aa." She misses his small, slightly amused smirk.

When the shoji screen closes with a gentle snap behind him, Sakura feels like drowning herself in the hot spring. But she can't because she's got a perimeter to secure and three shinobi to take care of. Besides, Uchiha Itachi would probably find some ridiculous way to revive her, only to tell her how stupid and careless she is, and then proceed to drown her himself.

He's a confusing man, she thinks. And a dangerous shinobi with unparalleled skill and grace she reminds herself. Yet she can't help the blooming attraction. She can't help that undeniable, gravitational pull towards him.

Even after three weeks away from Konoha, this 'phase' is apparently still present and she doesn't quite know how to deal with it anymore.

And she decides then—for the sake of her sanity—to tell him how she feels and be done with it. At least it'll be off her chest and honestly, she isn't expecting anything to be reciprocated. She just…she just wants to be open and honest and clear of pent up emotions that just won't go away. She's tired of skirting around the issue and pretending nothing is there when it's glaringly obvious that something is.

What happens after…well, she hasn't quite planned that far ahead yet but she supposes she'll deal with it when the time comes.

**…**

Sakura decides that this is the opportune time to tell Uchiha Itachi how she feels. She falls back in line with him as they head back to Konoha and clears her throat, ignoring his slightly curious glance.

"I need to tell you something." She begins. "I—"

He suddenly grabs her and they twist midair, narrowly dodging two flying shuriken. And all at once, they're fighting an ambush and Sakura's completely forgotten anything and everything except the enemy and how she's going to make them eat bark and dirt for interrupting.

**…**

They're at the hospital, getting checked over by Shizune which Sakura thinks is completely unnecessary because she's a goddamn medic too and she's fine, despite the little fact she got a katana rammed through her side by an S-class missing nin from Mist. She made him regret it of course after she ripped a hole in his chest at the same time.

Buying a pair of new gloves is added to her list of things to do, right next to 'Confess your feelings to one Uchiha Itachi'.

"I'm fine Shizune." Sakura assures the older woman who looks at her with a raised brow and an expression that says 'if you were fine you wouldn't have a sword wound to begin with'.

"I know you are Sakura but you scared Tsunade-sama, coming in all bloody and pale like that."

Sakura concedes with a small sigh. "I'll try not to do that too often."

Shizune nods, throws a little smile her way and finishes bandaging just as Itachi enters the room. The older woman curiously glances between the two, noting the slight shift in the air. But she keeps her thoughts to herself and her mouth wisely shut. Telling them to get some rest, she leaves the room after and doesn't question a thing. What shinobi do in their own time is entirely their business. But still, she can't fight the smile that gently curves her mouth.

**…**

"You were foolish."

It's the first thing that leaves his mouth and she has to abruptly reel back to reality. Sakura blinks before indignation rises within her and she's standing up to her full height—which isn't much compared to him but hell, she doesn't give a shit—and scowls and glares.

"Don't even think about lecturing me, Uchiha." She seethes, eyes burning with a deep green fire and blazing hot.

"I had them under control." His jaw muscles almost imperceptibly tighten.

"You may be a prodigy but it doesn't mean you're invincible." She retorts. "I was only trying to help you so I wouldn't have to drag your ass back to Konoha."

"If this," He stares pointedly at her nearly healed injury, "is your way of helping than it is seriously flawed."

Her eyes flare and she steps closer, heedless of the way his eyes darken to an almost carnal black.

"Get off your pedestal for a change Uchiha. I've worked with you long enough to know you're not all that perfect and superior."

"Do not presume to know me, _Sakura._"

"And don't presume to know me, _Itachi._"

The air around them is stifling, filled with a tension so electrically charged they can almost feel it spark against their skin. It is a clash of iron clad wills and colored glares that heat each of their bodies, making thrilling and white hot shivers run up and down their spines. Fisting her hands is all Sakura can do to keep from kissing and touching the Uchiha so close in front of her.

"I can't believe I li—"

The door bursts open, effectively shattering the tense atmosphere and cutting off what she was just about to say. She takes a quick step back and sees Naruto and Sasuke charge into the room like they own the place. She's beginning to think the world's against her confessing anything remotely romantic to Itachi.

"Sakura!" Naruto quickly closes the distance between them, grabs her shoulders and checks her for any signs of injury. "We heard you were brought in, bleeding and dying!"

"That's a gross exaggeration, Naruto. Why do you insist on believing everything Izumo and Kotetsu say?"

"I worry for you Sakura." The blonde says. "ANBU's got us running around like crazy so we don't get to see you as often.

"I'm fine, Naruto."

"Aniki." Sasuke greets his older brother after he too, checks on the well being of his former teammate. He knows a little of what happened, that his brother's ANBU squad had been ambushed by a large group of Stone nins just outside of Fire's borders, but he isn't privy to all the details.

The look in Itachi's eyes tells him he won't be finding out any time soon either.

"Is everything alright?" Sasuke ventures, eyeing both Sakura and his brother with no small amount of curiosity.

He wonders if he and Naruto have just barged in on a private meeting or something. He knows that Sakura often goes on missions with Itachi's ANBU squad—has done so for two years now—and thinks perhaps his aniki was worried and giving the pink haired woman a sound thrashing, which of course she deserves for worrying the hell out of them all.

"Everything's fine." Sakura says in a clipped tone.

Itachi inclines his head, face and eyes unreadable. "As Haruno says, everything is _fine_."

Sasuke gets the slightest impression that everything is _not_ fine but he doesn't pry for further details from his former teammate and stoic brother because he doesn't feel like getting punched through a tree or exhausted to death from a so called 'brotherly spar'. He senses Naruto about to question the situation and promptly shoots the blonde a warning glare.

Naruto hesitates but finally concedes. He doesn't know what's actually happening but he trusts his cherry blossom and to some vague, distant extent, Uchiha Itachi. He has after all, watched out for their Sakura-chan and that, in his book, gets him on the 'Do not maim or kill' list—not that he could anyway. Sasuke's older brother isn't someone to be trifled with and he'd hate to be on the receiving end of one of his freakishly creepy death glares.

"Come on, we'll get you home."

* * *

A week has gone by and Sakura can't take it anymore. It's like a festering wound, a terrible itch that worsens every minute of every day and it's slowly driving her mad. Each night the restlessness grows within her, threatening to claw its way out and damn it, this is getting out of hand and disrupting the wonderful balance that used to be her life.

Sakura can't recall when this attraction began and every time she tries to, it all converges, blurs and she's left with fragments and snippets of time and memory that in some way, shape, or form lets her know what she feels right now is not random and out of the blue. It is the product of spending time with him. The slow and steady build up of interaction and observation, of getting to know the seemingly untouchable Uchiha Itachi.

She knows though that he isn't untouchable. He's human, just like her. Feels—though he's much more controlled about it—just like her.

Sakura sits up in bed and runs her hands through her disheveled locks of long pink hair. It's past midnight but hell, she needs to get this off her chest _now_ so she can get some damn sleep and stop looking like a dead woman walking.

She takes a deep breath and climbs out of bed, pulls on the closest article of clothing which happens to be a long, off the shoulder black sweater over her pair of sleeping shorts. She quickly puts on her flat sandals that tie around the ankle because they're the only pair of shoes she can find in the dark. She doesn't glance back as she slides her large window open and jumps out into the cool spring night, heading in the direction of the Uchiha compound.

**…**

Getting past the night sentries is still as easy as she remembers. When they were younger and still a close knit team, she, Naruto and Sasuke often snuck around so Sakura knows all the best ways to get inside and out.

Her sweater however, snags on a tree branch and it breaks with a loud snap. She curses her horrible luck and whatever's out to get her when she hears the Uchiha sentries suddenly shuffle and whisper, no doubt about to seek out the source of the noise. She quickly disentangles the offending branch from her clothing and like the kunoichi she is, smoothly descends the tree and heads in the direction of Sasuke's home.

After milling around, not quite sure where exactly Itachi's room is and desperately hoping she doesn't get caught or katon-ed to hell and back, the devil himself finds her just as one of the guards round the corner.

She doesn't quite follow the next events as she's suddenly shoved through an open shoji screen door and told to stay still and quiet. All she knows is that the blanket thrown over her head smells of Itachi and that something pointy is digging into her side, making her extremely uncomfortable and almost regretting even coming here.

A few moments crawl by and she hears the paper door open and close. A weight settles in front of her and she slowly lifts the blanket, daring a peek and hoping it's who she thinks it is.

Itachi stares at her, amusement flashing in his dark eyes before removing the pointy thing digging into her side. It's his ninjaken and he settles it beside him before once again leveling a rather intense look upon her. She shifts, straightens and lets the blanket pool in her lap.

"Hi." It's lame and she knows it and she wants to laugh at this unexpected, maybe even a little ridiculous rendezvous she's taken it upon herself to set up but she doesn't because he's slowly coming closer. Her hearts beating faster and the room—probably his room—has suddenly become smaller.

Sakura's finding it a little hard to breathe but she manages. Until Itachi decides to touch her, run the pads of his fingers along her exposed shoulder, the dip of her collarbone. It's such a sensuous motion that she's closing her eyes—

But they quickly snap open and she's inhaling a deep, cleansing breath. She remembers the reason she's here and damn it, she's going to get it out.

"Stop that." She scowls, slapping his hand away because it's distracting and yes, because she _dares_ to.

Itachi tilts his head to the side, that sexy, know-it-all smirk of his curving his lips. "Is that all you came here to say, _Sakura?_"

"Of course not." She replies and even though she's a little nervous, she tries to smother it. She's twenty two and if she can't even admit her feelings at this age, there's little to no hope for her at all.

So Sakura dives right in, heedless of the repercussions of her actions.

"I like you, Itachi. And maybe I even love you but I'm not sure yet." She exhales, already feeling a little lighter. "I just needed to tell you because I couldn't sleep at night and it was all your fault."

She bites her bottom lip, trying to hide the liberating smile. She runs her fingers through her side swept bangs and prepares to leave because this was all she came here to do.

"I know."

She pauses, blinks owlishly in slight confusion. "You know what?"

Once again he comes closer and this time he gently pushes her down against the tatami mats and hovers over her, cutting off all attempts at escape. His fingers trail along her skin and she doesn't fight it. To be perfectly honest, she really doesn't want to.

"That for the past few months, you have struggled with your feelings for me. That you have tried to tell me multiple times but something always seems to interrupt your confessions."

"And you didn't say anything?" She hisses, but she sounds more like a harmless kitten than a deadly snake.

"I was curious to see how persistent you would be." Itachi admits, lowering his mouth to brush along her shoulder, taste her collarbone and the smooth column of her neck.

"What if I never told you?" She asks before her mind turns to mush and she can't think anymore.

He smirks against her skin and whispers into her ear. "Then I would have taken it upon myself to drag it out of you."

She distantly registers his hand sliding under her sweater, trailing up and up until it brushes along the swell of her breast. Her breath hitches but then reason sneaks in and she tries to sit up.

"Okay, very funny Itachi. I know you enjoy messing with me and—"

Before she can utter another word, his lips are on hers, hard and demanding and it feels like he's branding her, searing his name across her heart and soul. He grips her silvery pink locks, pulls her head back and when she gasps and moans because he's between her legs and he's throbbing and she's hot and wet, he slips his tongue inside her mouth, mimicking exactly what he's going to do to her once the clothes come off and there are no barriers of separation.

Uchiha Itachi doesn't speak unless he has to or desires to do so. Sakura knows this and she knows that this is his way of telling her he likes her too and maybe even loves her. But like her, he doesn't quite know yet. She understands because this is all so very new to them and for the time being, she's perfectly content to just touch him and feel him.

So when they're panting and their bodies are slick with sweat, when she's holding on tight because it feels so _good_ to have him inside of her as if he belongs there, she's happy she told him. And she's happy as hell nothing interrupted her this time because she probably would have snapped and wiped out an entire training field.

Sakura finally gets some sleep though, thoroughly drained and satisfied and wondering if she's in shinobi heaven because for once, she's completely relaxed and unworried about the trappings of their life.

Sunshine spills into his room, making her glow and even more alluring than she already is. Itachi brushes a few strands of her soft pink hair aside and smirks his all knowing smirk as he pulls her closer to his body. It's a good thing they have today off because he doesn't plan on either of them leaving his room any time soon.

* * *

**…_end…_**

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A/N: Just something I needed to write and get out of my system. It'd been bugging me for a while. No real premise, just hope you enjoyed.

_-hasu_


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